There is a sense of weightlessness that accompanies speed; a strange feeling for any Earthbound creature who temporarily breaks Gravity’s relentless grip – an intoxicating blend of liberty and a sense impeding doom. The day I learned to ride a bike, I felt this sensation spread through me like a virus; immediately my eyes cast to the dirt trail behind the house as the most obvious opportunity to discover just how fast I could go and how far I could get. The excitement filled first my hands and my feet, then it billowed up through body to my shoulders and dazzled me with splendidly blurred vision as I sped down that very trail which previously I had only ever walked along.
The freedom that accompanied these feeling lingers with me today, and their intoxicating qualities express themselves every time my eyes cast upon a bicycle.
The bicycle has represented freedom to Cyclists since well before the turn of the last century. From the start, the question of how far and how fast the bicycle can be ridden has captivated not only those riding, but anyone who cares to spectate. A kilometer, then 5, then 500; race organizers quickly discovered what any modern Cyclist knows; make a ride sound crazy enough, and you’ll attract more than enough idiots to make a spectacle. So was born the sport of Bicycle Racing.
The classical tale we tell is that throughout the pre-War and post-War eras; when Cycling represented a reprieve from the labor of a hard daily life underground or in the fields. Many of the competitors in the Tour were workers who took time from their usual work to race across the great expanse of France. Even the great champions of Cycling’s Golden Era in the 1950’s would have chanced a life with hands gripping a set of handlebars against sickle, hammer, or shovel. Bobet, Anquetil, our Prophet Merckx, Hinault, and Fignon faced life in a field or market versus life as one of the greatest shaping forces our sport has known. It wasn’t until recently when Cycling became a financially attractive occupation; Merckx, in his most winning years, earned as much as his son Axel did as a domestique in the 2000’s.
But the notion of Cycling as an escape from a hard life in the fields may not be dead yet; as many of us now know, Nairo Quintana grew up in rural Colombia, riding 18 kilometers uphill to school (both directions, and naked in four seasons of Winter, supposing our collective grandfathers shared his fate). The bicycle didn’t just free him from the confines of his childhood; the bicycle elevated Nairo Quintana and his family into another stratosphere altogether.
I don’t know very much about life in Colombia and whether his newfound fame will lead to a better or more rewarding life for him. That remains for him to discover, and like anyone who pushes into the unknown, he will need to square his new demons against his old in order to find those answers. But what I do know is that, like it did for us, the bicycle has freed him from his perceived boundaries and set him free explore new territories.
It would seem, then – at least for this moment – that the Golden Era of Cycling is not yet beyond our grasp.
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The WC should be a great race. Cancellara is targeting it too (?!) and I imagine Nibali will be all over it.
@gregorio
He's just so composed on the bike. Everything goes into the drivetrain, to move him up the road. I like watching Tommy V., too, paradoxically. But if I could choose between the two, I'd be Quintana for sure.
Old training advice I read somewhere, in the context of running I'm afraid: if your face and hands are relaxed, the rest of you is probably relaxed, too. That helped me run better, and I try to remember it, now, while riding.
It seems obvious that Quintana doesn't waste anything. I admire that.
@Souleur I recall I read somewhere in the 80's in Winning magazine LeMond scratched a $ sign on his head stem. The rest is history.
For all of you singing the praises of Valverde, please look back a bit beyond this last month.
Yes, he is a fine racer, but he has had more of his share of luck re: mechanicals, doping shenanigans and dodgy assistance from his Spanish buddies.
The 09 Vuelta was only his because "neutral" assistance left Evans for 5+ minutes on the side of the road with a flat, and his 09 Dauphine win was achieved with more than a little help from Contador (on a different team) working over poor Cuddles.
If his doping ban had started when it should have (in 09) - he would not have even started in those races!
I have to love Quintana for the fact that he's one of the very few in the peloton that I can't watch for positioning and riding style help because he's too small.
Ha, Merckx. Just read in the Fotheringham book that he used to make bicycle deliveries for his father, then the milkman, by bicycle. So he was a bike messenger! And also a grocer. Also love that he disliked school and knew he had to win his early races or else his mother wouldn't let him give racing a go. Slicing meat, cracking books, nope, I want to ride my bike for a living.
Oh yeah, and great writing Frank!
It makes me both happy and sad that I still experience the pure joy of riding a bicycle on a daily basis. I'm happy because nothing can change me from glum to cheery in five minutes like jumping on a bike. Sad because too many folks give it up as the dabbling of kids. Get out and ride, folks!
In the words of H.G. Wells: "Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race."
If the Vuelta follows form, 2013 could be one of the best years in many for all three grand tours.
@Souleur Quintana did not ride the Giro, as far as I know.
@Deakus
I don't know what you've been watching these last three weeks, but Valverde was capable of 8th* (drug cheat), possibly the best tour since Le Man and you call it a turd, quite what needed to happen for you to enjoy this I don't know. I thought it was a Battle Star of Awesome, truckload just isn't even close. The best three sprinters mashed it head to head numerous times, stunning attacks in the Pyrennes, brilliant teamwork on the plains in the wind, amazing support from the various teams for their leaders, climbing stars of the future hinting at what is to come, good God man wake up! BTW do you like bike racing? Giro-shit, TDF-turd, Vuelta-shit, WTF?
The vuelta will be interesting, but I'd be hard pressed to bet against Nibbles. That being said we've seen amazing performances this year from Nibbles, Froome, Faboo, Sagan, etc but its really hard not to love Quintana and the stone cold face that masks fury, passion, and suffering. Unlimited talent and potential.